People suffering with acute or chronic wounds don't have to look any further than the Outpatient Wound Care Center at St. Thomas More Hospital for care and treatment.

Located in the Outpatient Rehabilitation building on the campus of St. Thomas More Hospital, the center opened in October 2011.

Lisa Shane and Jim Watson, certified Wound, Ostomy and Continence nurses, provide specialized care and treatment to people of all ages recovering from a wound.

"We do comprehensive wound and ostomy care and education," Shane said. "That incorporates anything from wound evaluation and dressing changes to looking at arterial flows to compression therapy for venous stasis ulcers," she said. "We also put people in touch with custom diabetic shoes for preventative care after a wound healing and compression garments for dealing with the venous stasis."

Shane and Watson see six to 10 patients each day, a total of about 519 since the center opened.

"People don't really realize what an asset it is to have this facility and have it tied into Centura," Watson said. "It's really a major asset that the town has, and I don't think people realize what's available."

Grover K. Wilkerson, 85, visits the center three times a week for a chronic shoulder wound.

"I've been to several other (wound care centers), and I won't go anywhere else — I won't let them touch me," he said. "This is the best I've ever seen and they treat me very nicely. They do a good job."

Teresa Tyner, 51, visits the center weekly for a leg wound. Before moving to Cañon City, she went to a wound care center in Texas.

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"I thought it was good, but they weren't really personable," she said. "This place — Lisa and Jim — are absolutely wonderful. They are at the top of my list; I would recommend them to anyone."

Tyner said she especially appreciates how they explain what they are doing to the wound, why they are doing it and what the effects will be.

"I've never had that — out of all the years I have been going to different wound care centers, I've never had anybody explain why they are doing what they are doing," she said.

"Sometimes surgeons don't elect to close, so they leave a surgical wound open for a period of time, and they'll have us follow a patient and care for them until they do a delayed closure," Watson said.

Shane and Watson also sometimes create a plan for a hospital patient's wound care and see patients in the emergency department.

"Some patients we see once or twice, some patients we see once a week for a year if it's a chronic wound and some we see three times a week for a month" Watson said.

They also do case management for their patients and help them order supplies for home care. The St. Thomas More Health Foundation recently gave them a grant for $1,000 to help pay for supplies for those with no insurance.

A referral from a primary care physician is required, but Shane and Watson can help with that, Shane said.

The Wound Care Center is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 1338 Phay Ave. For more information, call 285-2147.

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